Keep in Touch by Sending Postcards!

The Levin family recently returned from another National Parks trip out in the Western part of the United States. Our three-week vacation allowed for us to connect and reconnect with family and friends, eat new foods (our love for the Huckleberry in all its forms - ice cream, jam, fudge, pancake mix, coffee) and disconnect?from the daily responsibilities of work and parenthood.

There is also something else I love about travel. I have had a 25+ year?love affair with postcards. There are endless possibilities. The different types of stamps you can use. The images and great photos on the cards. The wondering about?how long it will actually take to reach the destination. From my vantage point, sending postcards does nothing but send positive ripples into the world. These pieces of picturesque paper?show?you are thinking of someone. You can share a little bit about a recent trip, personal or professional. And most importantly, sending a postcard?is an act of keeping in touch with family, friends and the people you want to stay connected with.

My commitment to postcards started back in the summer of 1996, when?I had a wonderful internship at the US Ambassador’s residence in Paris, France. On weekends, I was not working and had plenty of time on my hands. In Paris, you can see postcard stands at many street corners. ?So I started sending some to my family, my friends and people who were helpful to me in prior internships and summer jobs.

When I finished my internship and returned to the US, and so many people told me how much they enjoyed receiving a postcard from me. I was hooked!

You can send a postcard for both personal or professional reasons. Taking a vacation? Send a postcard to family and friends! Speaking at an annual association meeting in another city? Send a postcard to clients, partners or past colleagues. Today is a great day to send a postcard.

Adopting a postcard-sending habit?does not need to be overwhelming. Here are some ideas to get your postcard strategy off the ground:

1) Make labels before your travel - Start an Excel file of people you want to send a postcard to, with the following fields: a) first name b) last name c) address d) city e) state f) zip code and g) country.? These people can be family, friends, past colleagues and other people you have been thinking about.?

2) Feed your Excel file into the label making wizard in Word - For example, I use Avery 5160 labels or their equivalent. It prints 30 labels on a page and fit nicely on a postcard.?

3) Create a file on your computer - Save the label file so you can remind yourself of those to whom you sent a postcard and when.? For example,?(a) summer vacation 2023, or (b) conference association trip May 2023

4) Be?sure to bring stamps with?you - Get stamps on usps.com - In addition to making labels in advance, it is good to have stamps with you. Keep three kinds of stamps with you: (a) regular postcard stamps for domestic shipping, (b) letter stamps for the oversized postcard; and (c)?international stamps, which work both on regular postcards and oversized postcards?

5) Where you can get post cards? - Whether you are flying or driving in most domestic US cities, you can easily find postcards once you land in the city of your destination. If you are flying, check out the gift shops in the airport. If not, the pharmacies (such as CVS) also carry postcards.

We are in this together!?

Let's make some authentic and genuine connections in 2023.? One day at a time. One postcard at a time. Keep in touch!?

#connection #relationships #postcards #speaker #trainer